---
title: Quickstart for hosts / VMs on self-managed deployments
description: Learn how to set up the EDOT Collector and EDOT SDKs to collect host metrics, logs and application traces.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/solutions/observability/get-started/opentelemetry/quickstart/self-managed/hosts_vms
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector
  - Elastic Observability
applies_to:
  - Serverless Observability projects: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
  - Elastic Distribution of OpenTelemetry Collector: Generally available
---

# Quickstart for hosts / VMs on self-managed deployments
Learn how to set up the EDOT Collector and EDOT SDKs to collect host metrics, logs and application traces.

## Guided setup

Use the **Add data** screen in Elastic Observability to generate install commands that are already configured with the values you need.
1. Open Elastic Observability.
2. Go to **Add data**.
3. Select what you want to monitor.
4. Follow the instructions.


## Manual installation

Follow these steps to deploy the EDOT Collector and EDOT OTel SDKs.
<stepper>
  <step title="Download the EDOT Collector">
    [Download the EDOT Collector](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/edot-collector/download) for your operating system, extract the archive and move to the extracted directory.
  </step>

  <step title="Configure the EDOT Collector">
    Retrieve your [Elasticsearch endpoint](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/solutions/elasticsearch-solution-project/search-connection-details) and [API key](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/deploy-manage/api-keys/elasticsearch-api-keys) and replace `<ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT>` and `<ELASTIC_API_KEY>` before applying the following command.
    <tab-set>
      <tab-item title="Linux">
        ```bash
        ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT=<ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT> && \
        ELASTIC_API_KEY=<ELASTIC_API_KEY> && \
        cp ./otel_samples/logs_metrics_traces.yml ./otel.yml && \
        mkdir -p ./data/otelcol && \
        sed -i "s#\${env:STORAGE_DIR}#${PWD}/data/otelcol#g" ./otel.yml && \
        sed -i "s#\${env:ELASTIC_ENDPOINT}#${ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT}#g" ./otel.yml && \
        sed -i "s#\${env:ELASTIC_API_KEY}#${ELASTIC_API_KEY}#g" ./otel.yml
        ```
      </tab-item>

      <tab-item title="macOS">
        ```bash
        ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT=<ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT> && \
        ELASTIC_API_KEY=<ELASTIC_API_KEY> && \
        cp ./otel_samples/logs_metrics_traces.yml ./otel.yml && \
        mkdir -p ./data/otelcol && \
        sed -i '' "s#\${env:STORAGE_DIR}#${PWD}/data/otelcol#g" ./otel.yml && \
        sed -i '' "s#\${env:ELASTIC_ENDPOINT}#${ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT}#g" ./otel.yml && \
        sed -i '' "s#\${env:ELASTIC_API_KEY}#${ELASTIC_API_KEY}#g" ./otel.yml
        ```
      </tab-item>

      <tab-item title="Windows">
        ```powershell
        Remove-Item -Path .\otel.yml -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Copy-Item .\otel_samples\logs_metrics_traces.yml .\otel.yml
        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path .\data\otelcol | Out-Null

        $content = Get-Content .\otel.yml
        $content = $content -replace '\${env:STORAGE_DIR}', "$PWD\data\otelcol"
        $content = $content -replace '\${env:ELASTIC_ENDPOINT}', "<ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT>"
        $content = $content -replace '\${env:ELASTIC_API_KEY}', "<ELASTIC_API_KEY>"
        $content | Set-Content .\otel.yml
        ```
      </tab-item>
    </tab-set>
  </step>

  <step title="Run the EDOT Collector">
    Run the following command to run the EDOT Collector.
    <note>
      The Collector will open the ports `4317` and `4318` to receive application data from locally running OTel SDKs.
    </note>

    <tab-set>
      <tab-item title="Linux and macOS">
        ```bash
        sudo ./otelcol --config otel.yml
        ```
      </tab-item>

      <tab-item title="Windows">
        ```powershell
        .\elastic-agent.exe otel --config otel.yml
        ```
      </tab-item>
    </tab-set>
  </step>

  <step title="(Optional) Instrument your applications">
    To collect telemetry from applications and use the EDOT Collector as a gateway,
    instrument your target applications following the setup instructions:
    - [Android](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/android)
    - [.NET](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/dotnet/setup)
    - [iOS](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/ios)
    - [Java](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/java/setup)
    - [Node.js](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/node/setup)
    - [PHP](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/php/setup)
    - [Python](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/edot-sdks/python/setup)
    Configure your SDKs to send the data to the local EDOT Collector using OTLP/gRPC (`http://localhost:4317`) or OTLP/HTTP (`http://localhost:4318`).
    <tip>
      Activate Central Configuration to configure your EDOT SDKs from within Kibana. Refer to [EDOT SDKs Central Configuration](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/opentelemetry/central-configuration).
    </tip>
  </step>

  <step title="Install the content pack">
    Install the **[System OpenTelemetry Assets](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/system_otel)** integration in Kibana.
  </step>

  <step title="Explore your data">
    Go to Kibana and select **Dashboards** to explore your newly collected data.
  </step>
</stepper>


## Troubleshooting

Having issues with EDOT? Refer to the [Troubleshooting common issues with the EDOT Collector](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/troubleshoot/ingest/opentelemetry/edot-collector) and [Troubleshooting the EDOT SDKs](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/troubleshoot/ingest/opentelemetry/edot-sdks) for help.